There was smooth voter registration countrywide except for isolated technical problems and two service-delivery protest marches, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) said.
Ninety-nine percent of registration stations opened on time at 7am and all but a few staff turned up, chief electoral officer Pansy Tlakula told reporters in Pretoria.
There were isolated reports of power failures in Limpopo, and a handful of reported problems with equipment such as scanners.
Registration at two municipalities — Nelson Mandela in the Eastern Cape and Umshwathi in KwaZulu-Natal — were marked by protests over service delivery.
The IEC hoped to register 800 000 eligible voters at about 19 000 points countrywide on Saturday, but had no figures of progress by lunchtime.
The first breakdown should be available by Sunday, said deputy chief electoral officer Norman du Plessis.
The IEC currently has about 20,4-million registered voters on its books. Of these, more than 54% are women.
Those who miss the opportunity to register at their local voting stations by 5pm on Saturday can continue doing so at 237 municipal offices countrywide.
There is no provision during the local government elections for special or postal votes, Du Plessis said, and prospective voters have to register and cast their ballots at the polling station where they reside.
Many of the 800 000 registrations being targeted for Saturday were of citizens who had changed their addresses since the last municipal poll in 2000.
The IEC has a budget of R884-million for the current financial year, including the cost of the registration drive, which is aimed in large part at young first-time voters, Tlakula said.
Asked about a preferred election date, she said: ”Yesterday.”
But the IEC is ready to conduct the poll from the earliest possible date of December 7.
”Our preparations are ahead of schedule. We can hold elections anytime from December 7 to March 6 [the latest date allowed by the Constitution].”
She expressed some concern over voter apathy, saying: ”We are a new, vibrant democracy, which is in some instances the envy of the world. It would be very sad if we were to elect our representatives with a very low voter turnout.”
The IEC hopes to match a turn-out at least of 48% achieved with local government elections in 2000.
Recent municipal service delivery protests bode well for voter turnout, Tlakula said.
”If anything, they raise the issue of elections. People are aware now that there is a local government election, people are talking about it. We will work to capitalise on that, to ensure that we encourage people to go out and vote.
”That is the power that they have, the right that they have in the Constitution. A right that many people fought for and died for, and we cannot take it lightly.”
Tlakula said citizens have shown high levels of interest in registering for the poll, with 18 358 enquiries received via SMS by 10am on Saturday, and another 10 432 via its call centre.
The IEC website recorded 22 377 hits.
Department of Home Affairs offices were open countrywide on Saturday to allow eligible voters to obtain the bar-coded identity document required to register and vote.
Prospective voters still inside registration stations by the 5pm closing time would not be turned away, Tlakula said. — Sapa